Museum - Collections
The Museum at Southwestern Michigan College collects artifacts that help preserve the history of the College District, which includes Cass County and part of Van Buren County. The college began collecting local history artifacts in 1968 and the Museum’s collection currently consists of 20,000 objects that highlight the rich history of this area. The collection is stored in a state-of-art climate-controlled facility.
Donations
The Museum relies on donations from the public to add artifacts to its collections. If the object meets the Museum’s mission and is not duplicated in the collection, the Museum may be interested in acquiring it. To donate an item, contact the Museum at 269 782-1374 or at museum@swmich.edu.
Round Oak Collection
The Museum at Southwestern Michigan College has the nation’s largest collection of Round Oak Stove Company artifacts. The company, founded by Philo D. Beckwith in 1871, was the most important firm in Dowagiac history and led to the city’s growth in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Round Oak Stove Company directed many of the town’s social activities and put the community on the map as the largest stove manufacturer in the world.
Local History Collection
What is local history? Every local history museum may have a different definition, but it can encompass all facets of an area’s history, including social, economic, industrial, military and political factors.
Some of the Museum’s other collections include:
- James Heddon’s Sons Company
- Rudy Furnace, Premier Furnace and Dowagiac Steel Furnace companies
- Dowagiac Manufacturing Company
- Chapman Engine Company of Marcellus
- Smith Hoist Company of Cassopolis
- William Dick letters (Civil War Papers)
- Papers of Major Gen. Irving Phillipson (WW I through WW II)
- Papers of Capt. Iven C. Kincheloe (Korean War and early U.S. space program)
- Artifacts of foreign newspaper correspondent Webb Miller
